[Marxism] "Changing Venezuela by Taking Power" - essential reading on Venezuelan revolution

[Fred Fuentes]

Changing Venezuela by Taking Power
The Policies of the Chávez Government. *By Gregory Wilpert *


  [image: Book cover]
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844675521?ie=UTF8&tag=venezuanalys-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1844675521>

*Purchase at Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/> for $17.79 (click on cover
image)*

Venezuela under Hugo Chávez could be a model for peaceful revolution — or,
as this definitive history shows, it could all be undone by the spectres of
the past.

Since coming to power in 1998, the Chávez government has inspired both
fierce internal debate and horror amongst Western governments accustomed to
counting on an obeisant regime in the oil-rich state.

In this rich and resourceful study, Greg Wilpert exposes the self-serving
logic behind much middle-class opposition to Venezuela's elected leader, and
explains the real reason for their alarm. He argues that the Chávez
government has instituted one of the world's most progressive constitutions,
but warns that they have yet to overcome the dangerous spectres of the
country's past: its culture of patronage and clientelism, its corruption,
and its support for personality cults—all of them fuelled by the attention
and interference of a succession of US administrations.

*Endorsements*:

 "This fascinating study—deeply informed, penetrating in its analysis,
comprehensive in scope—explores the historical and socioeconomic roots of
the Venezuelan initiatives of recent years, the conflicts they have
engendered, the achievements and pitfalls, the animating ideals of a
genuinely participatory society, and the prospects for realizing them in
ways that, if successful, might have significant impact not only for Latin
America but well beyond."
— Noam Chomsky

 "Gregory Wilpert's book combines academic insight with perspectives gained
from living in Venezuela through the tumultuous years of the Chávez
administration. His book offers the best general introduction to the complex
politics of a country and a leader making a profound impact on global
politics at the dawn of this new century." — Daniel Hellinger, Professor of
Political Science at Webster University and co-editor of *Venezuelan
Politics in the Chávez Era*

 "Greg Wilpert knows Venezuela intimately and gives us the most thorough and
objective analysis of the Chávez government's policies we are likely to
find. A thoughtful and useful book for the 21st century and, let us hope,
beyond."
—Susan George: Chair of the Planning Board of the Transnational Institute,
author of *Another World is Possible If…*

 *Gregory Wilpert is a sociologist (Ph.D. Brandeis University), freelance
journalist, editor of Venezuelanalysis.com <http://venezuelanalysis.com/>,
and a former US Fulbright Scholar in Venezuela.*